Fri. March 6 -- Pianist Jean-Michel Pilc's highly evolved trio with bassist Francois Moutin and drummer Ari Hoenig has proved to be just about the kind of spacious, unindebted truth that listeners can get lost in. A CAP presentation at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall; 8pm; $35-$45; www.cap.ucla.edu.
Fri. March 6 -- Dunno or care if you'd call keyboardist Marco Benevento jazz, but he brings a rare ear-catching melodic sense to his youth-friendly instrumentals. With Superhuman Happiness. At Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd. near Alvarado, LA 90057; 9pm; $15-$25; all ages; (213) 908-5344; tickets here.
Fri. March 6 -- Sit close to Jeff Kollman and try to figure out the difference between a heavy guitarist who shapes every note and every phrase, and some other guy who just plays fast. Kollman's trio features bassist Kevin Chown and drummer Glen Sobel. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Fri. March 6 -- Masters of dense Norwegian metal Enslaved blur the borders of melodic blackness and croaking technicality. With YOB, Ecstatic Vision. At El Rey Theater, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; 8pm; $22; all ages; www.theelrey.com.
Fri.-Sat. March 6-7 -- Just ask Charles Lloyd, Branford Marsalis and Steve Coleman if Robert Hurst plays a hey of a bass, and they'll say yeah. Concurring will be his all-star bandmates: alto saxist Josh Johnson, pianist Geoffrey Keezer, percussionist Munyungo Jackson and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $20; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Fri.-Sat. March 6-7 -- Trumpeter Roy Hargrove likes tradition and concept and hip-hop and Latin and a bunch of other stuff; Sonny Rollins called him "young" in the '90s; now he's just Roy, doing the Roy thing with a quintet. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8:30 & 10:30pm; $25-$35; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
Sat. March 7 -- Chamber modernists Eclipse Quartet go klezmer! For this occasion, the four fearless women graft bassist Ed Meares and special klezmer klarinetist David Orlowsky. At Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Fine Arts Complex, 5151 State University Drive, L.A. 90032; 8pm; $25-$45; (323) 343-6600; www.luckmanarts.org.
Sat. March 7 -- Donny McCaslin brings tenor beef, a twist of weirdness and a touch of romance to his slightly fusionistic quartet with keyboardist Jeff Babko, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Nate Wood. A presentation of the Jazz Bakery's Movable Feasts at the Colburn School's Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown 90012; one show 8pm; $25 (add $20 for each student); www.jazzbakery.org.
Sun. March 8 -- Rooted bassist Nedra Wheeler can conscript the best of South L.A. jazzers anytime, like pianist Jamael Dean, violist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, flutist Sikari Reed-Glenn and drummer Abe Lagrimas. At the Mayme Clayton Museum, 4130 Overland Ave., Culver City 90230; interview 1pm, music 2pm; $20 tickets here; limited seating; (310) 202-1647.
Tues. March 10 -- Trombonist Joey Sellers composes and arranges post-traditional colors better than the very devil, so each appearance of his Jazz Aggregation is an event, especially when the 12 members include longtime associate Kim Richmond (alto), Kei Akagi (piano), Trey Henry (bass) and Kendall Kay (drums). At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $15; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Wed. March 11 -- Mutilation Rites' publicist at Prosthetic Records calls their black metal "filthy," so you know they're really from Brooklyn. One might even add "caustic" and "depraved." With Man After Man, Crowhurst, Ancestral Awakening. At Club Los Globos, 3040 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park 90026; 6:30pm; $8; 19+ (not 18+, kid); www.clublosglobos.com; (323) 207-6686.
Thurs.-Fri. March 12-13 -- Not so much a groove merchant, drummer Kendrick Scott is a noncompetitive musical conversationalist who wants pianist Aaron Goldberg, guitarist Mike Moreno, saxist Walter Smith III and bassist Joe Sanders all to contribute semiabstract knowledge we can dig clearly. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $20; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
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Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.